Rancho Cañada de Jonive was a Mexican land grant in present day

Sonoma County, California Sonoma County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 488,863. Its seat of government and largest city is Santa Rosa. Sonoma County comprises the Santa Rosa-Petaluma ...

given in 1845 by Governor

Pío Pico Don (honorific), Don Pío de Jesús Pico IV (May 5, 1801 – September 11, 1894) was a California politician, ranchero, and entrepreneur, famous for serving as the List of governors of California before 1850, last governor of Alta California und ...

to James Black. The grant encompassed the town of Freestone.

History

At the direction of Governor José Figueroa in 1835, Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo began construction of the Presidio of Sonoma to counter the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n presence at Fort Ross. To extend the settlements in the direction of Fort Ross, Vallejo sent three men, Edward McIntosh, James Black (1810–1870), and James Dawson (–1843), in that direction. These three men came to California as sailors with Captain John B.R. Cooper, brother-in-law of General Vallejo. The Russian-American Company left Fort Ross and sold it to

John Sutter John Augustus Sutter (February 23, 1803 – June 18, 1880), born Johann August Sutter and known in Spanish as Don Juan Sutter, was a Switzerland, Swiss immigrant who became a Mexican and later an American citizen, known for establishing Sutter ...

in 1841. Black settled upon what would become Rancho Cañada de Jonive, while Dawson and McIntosh settled upon Rancho Estero Americano. They formed a partnership to build a saw-mill on Salmon Creek, near the town of Freestone. The mill on Rancho Cañada de Jonive operated until 1849, when they sold all the lumber they had and left for the gold mines. James Black (1810–1870) was born in

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. He went sea at an early age, and came to

Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...

in 1832. In 1842, when the Russians pulled out of California, Black had already left this frontier outpost to cut timber for John Cooper on his Rancho Punta de Quentin. In 1844, Black married Maria Agustina Sais (1828–1864), sister of Domingo Sais (1806–1853), grantee of

Rancho Cañada de Herrera Rancho Cañada de Herrera was a Mexican land grant in present day Marin County, California given in 1839 by Governor pro tem Manuel Jimeno to Domingo Sais (also spelled Saens or Saez). The grant encompassed present day Fairfax, Sleepy Hollow a ...

. Black moved back to Rancho Cañada de Jonive, where he received the two square league grant in 1845. Black traded holdings with Jasper O’Farrell in 1848; Black ending up with O’Farrell’s Rancho Nicasio holding and O’Farrell with Rancho Cañada de Jonive. With the cession of California to the United States following the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...

, the 1848

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ended the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). It was signed on 2 February 1848 in the town of Villa de Guadalupe, Mexico City, Guadalupe Hidalgo. After the defeat of its army and the fall of the cap ...

provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho Cañada de Jonive was filed with the Public Land Commission in 1852, and the grant was

patented A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

to Jasper O'Farrell in 1858. Report of the Surveyor General 1844 - 1886
O'Farrell married Mary McChristian in 1849 and they moved to Rancho Cañada de Jonive, and resided there until his death in 1875.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canada de Jonive Ranchos of Sonoma County, California 1845 establishments in Alta California

History

See also

References